Seed Germination Attempts

[zimm]

Hoping for some pointers here.  I've gone through a few a few iterations here with germinating seeds (of multiple varieties) and have had some mixed results:

First attempt

Part 1:  Baggie method - used dampened peat moss (springy/stringy stuff from Home Depot) and perlite in a baggie with seeds that had been soaked for 48 hours, changing water each day.  In retrospect, maybe this would have been a bit better if it were the more ground up/dirt size particles of peat moss to better mix with the perlite.  I put this on top of a heating mat I had been given from a relative that didn't need it anymore.  No temperature control so I stacked towels on top of the heating mat to "buffer" it from the baggies.  Started seeing some mold develop in places and generally could not see the seeds to tell if they were germinating at all.  Decided this wasn't a great option.  

Part 2:  Perlite in plastic container - reading about this online it seemed a great fit.  I took some plastic food containers and lined the bottom with a 1/2 to 3/4" perlite, took the seeds out of the baggies and rinsed them off, sprayed them with a copper fungicide and put them in the perlite containers with lids and back onto the heating mat.  I had enough water in the containers to dampen the perlite and I generally tried to keep the seeds submerged a bit to keep them in that moisture.  It took a few months but generally most of them germinated.  I could never get anything out of the brahea armata or any trachycarpus varieties (these all grew mold).  Once they started germination I would move them into little 4" jiffy pots with dirt and eventually saw where the root reached the bottom of the pot.  Ran into issues transplanting them (double stacked jiffy pots to let the root grow further was a bad idea) and not drying out (my own fault there), but ended up with several nice ones making it into larger band pots.  Knowing what I know now, they would all go directly into larger band pots.  This method did take up quite a lot of space though and I seem incapable of germinating any trachycarpus varieties without going moldy.

Second attempt

Community Pot:  Seeing that I had trouble with transplanting, drying out, etc the first time - I thought I would cut out the middleman and go right to dirt.  I collected some sabal palmetto seeds from a local tree that was rather nice and on a whim decided to try to germinate some seeds from some medjool dates from Costco.  Threw these (high density) into a band pot with some dirt and waited.  Both proved to be very viable seeds and are growing great.  When I split them up they were probably 8-10 inch leaves, usually 2-3 per plant.  The transplants were a bit rough on them and repacking dirt around the roots/etc, but after a bit of shock they mostly survived (and I had quantity, so losing a few wasn't an issue).  Not sure this is the best option for the harder to seeds I order a pack of 5 of, but maybe.

Third attempt (in progress)

Jiffy Pellet Greenhouse:  Now I think I'm really getting smart.   Why not get a 72 pellet greenhouse with a lid (for moisture retention), and utilize a 10x20 heating mat with a temperature controller.  I'm getting big time now - temp control and high density germination!  Going to take it a step further and soak the seeds for 3 days, and then do light scratching on some sand paper to scarify them.  Got this all set up and 72 seeds planted in the little Jiffy pellets, pushed down into the peat where just the top of the seed was visible, lid on, temp set to about 90F and the probe run inside the greenhouse and pushed down next to one of the pellets in the middle for temp control.  First issue - with all the moisture it is hard to see what is going on in there.  Second issue - when I opened the lid after a few days I was surprised to see some white fuzzy stuff growing on top of several of the peat pellets over the exposed seed.  Sprayed everything with the copper fungicide and then in further reading also sprayed with a hydrogen peroxide/water mix.  This seems to have tamped down the mold growth along with keeping the lid cracked a bit.  However - this requires closer monitoring for watering (which I have a history of not doing great on (either over/under watering).  Third  issue - my master plan was that once these germinated I could just plant the peat pellet in a band pot with dirt.  Perfect!  However, now that I have this in practice - I do not know how I can tell when a seed has germinated if I can only view it from the top.  By the time it reaches the bottom of the peat pellet, it may "air prune" or get too hot from the heat mat.  Might be that I need to lift these up and look at the bottom of each every day (or hope one of them pops upward in the tray).   The mold I can't say if it came from the peat pellets (probably did) but is a concern.

Fourth attempt (in planning status)

I'm considering going community pot with my remaining leftover seeds that were put in the Jiffy Pellet Greenhouse since I am not sure how well that will go.  Either that or go back to straight perlite in a baggie or plastic container.  If I'm going to have months waiting for germination, I'd rather have a two pronged attack in motion rather than wasting those months.  Heck, I just throw other seeds directly in dirt pots to germinate.  

 

Sorry for the long description, but that is my seed germination "journey" so far.  I know everyone has their own method I'm really looking for an easy solution that yet also seems to help slow to germinate seeds.  Would really appreciate any input to point out any wrong turns I may have taken or any suggestions you might have.  Primarily I am dealing with sabals, braheas, date palms and jubaea chilensis seeds (shell removed) currently if that helps.

Thank you!

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

Having explored most of these methods myself in the past, germinating things in community pots, or say 2-4 plants per pot has been the most successful by far..  Find that if you soak the pots before transplanting, and keep some sort of plastic tub nearby, filling w/ a couple inches of rainwater, perhaps mixing in a little Hydrogen Peroxide in ( to keep the roots of separated but not yet planted seedlings hydrated / from drying out ), i have had better post transplanting success and less shock. Not 100% fool proof of course, but more than content with the results.

Had too many mold issues w/ both the baggie method, and when germinating things in Peat pellets / pots.. or using the plastic container methods..

For things that take their time to germinate,, at least w/ community pots, you can tuck the pots somewhere, say under a bench where they will still get watered, same basic conditions as stuff that pops up faster seated above.. and pretty much forget about them, checking on them only so often..

[zimm]

26 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Having explored most of these methods myself in the past, germinating things in community pots, or say 2-4 plants per pot has been the most successful by far..  Find that if you soak the pots before transplanting, and keep some sort of plastic tub nearby, filling w/ a couple inches of rainwater, perhaps mixing in a little Hydrogen Peroxide in ( to keep the roots of separated but not yet planted seedlings hydrated / from drying out ), i have had better post transplanting success and less shock. Not 100% fool proof of course, but more than content with the results.

Had too many mold issues w/ both the baggie method, and when germinating things in Peat pellets / pots.. or using the plastic container methods..

For things that take their time to germinate,, at least w/ community pots, you can tuck the pots somewhere, say under a bench where they will still get watered, same basic conditions as stuff that pops up faster seated above.. and pretty much forget about them, checking on them only so often..

Thank you for the input!  What do you do for heating mats, if anything?  I have an indoor plat stand and am operating with a mix of 4" (square) by 14" band pots and 2.5" square by 10" band pots.  Am slowly migrating to the smaller ones for better density!  When I grew my sabal palmetto seedlings in the "community pot" they were in the 4" square ones and I spaced 16 seeds in there in a 4x4 pattern that worked out pretty well.  

[Silas_Sancona]

Just now, zimm said:

Thank you for the input!  What do you do for heating mats, if anything?  I have an indoor plat stand and am operating with a mix of 4" (square) by 14" band pots and 2.5" square by 10" band pots.  Am slowly migrating to the smaller ones for better density!  When I grew my sabal palmetto seedlings in the "community pot" they were in the 4" square ones and I spaced 16 seeds in there in a 4x4 pattern that worked out pretty well.  

To be honest, it has been many years since i have used heating mats.. Normally start things outdoors right around mid March- start of April.. occasionally in the fall ( here in Arizona ) Roughly the same time in Florida.. Would just pot stuff up and tuck under my benches.. Most things would germinate pretty quick there.. 

As far as the pots themselves, i use mostly 1 gallons.. Have had issues here using smaller pots ( 4"-5" squares ) Worked well in Florida and back in California though but less risk of stuff drying out too fast there.. My only issues using them is the lack of root space. afraid i'd stunt development, especially when i would plant a large batch of seeds.

In an indoor set up, i'd probably use the same sized pots ( some 1gals, the 4-5" inch squares ), except when germinating things that need deep pots.. like the bands/ tree pots.  There are several members here who have demonstrated excellent indoor set ups i hope contribute here and offer up their own experiences/ any additional advise.. 

[zimm]

I am set up with a 2 shelf plant stand (36” I think”) with 3 panel grow lights (blue/red) above each shelf, currently running 12 hours a day.  I can fit 3 10x20 trays on each, which each can hold a TRAY7 from Stuewe.  With some effort these will hold 16 4” square x 13.5” tree pots or 24 of the 2.5” x 10”.  Since the 10x20 trays are a bit wider than the wire shelving unit I have, they stick out a bit, but it is fine.  I got some boot mats that can fit 3 TRAY7s on without sticking out, but I don’t know if I like them as much.  Then I wrap it with some window scene material held from unfolded paper lips as hangers to keep the cats from messing with them!

 

 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Here's my set up which I have found the easiest for my beginner skill set. I do use a heating mat mostly for winter growth in my garage with plastic trays holding transparent solo cups filled with 50/50 turface and garden soil. I spray the top of the soil with daconil and I'll cover the tops with ziploc baggies to trap moisture to keep from having to keep watering often. Once seeds pop there first leaf they graduate to a cheap amazon grow light. 

Here in south Houston community pots are by far the easiest and highest germination rate. I keep outside in the shade in 1gal containers.